Choices a second chance
by heffy
Summary: Cordelia is thrown back in time, right into the clutches of Angelus...
1. Part 1

TITLE: CHOICES - a second chance  
  
AUTHOR: Hannah~Freya Anderson  
  
EMAIL: hannah_freya@yahoo.com.au mailto:hannah_freya@yahoo.com.au  
  
RATING: PG-13 (nothing you wouldn't see on a regular Buffy or angel episode)  
  
CLASSIFICATION: Cordelia/Angelus  
  
DISCLAIMER: No copyright laws have or will be broken,the character and all there surrounding objects belong to Joss Whedon and the WB and maybe UPN, I'm not sure... Please don't sue, I don't have any money anway, the only thing I have are my dogs, but there's no way in *hell* you're getting them.  
  
SUMMARY: Cordeilia is sent back in time and comes across Angelus.  
  
STATUS: Unfinished, but will be completed.  
  
HOMEPAGE: Back in Time a btvs/ats fanfiction archive   
  
  
  
or  
  
Belonging to Winter a hermione granger fanfiction archive   
  
  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: IMPORTANT- there is a game children play in Australia- the objective- 2 people stare at each other, the first to blink loses, we call this game JINX, i have NO idea what it may be called elsewhere, so, in the story the reference JINX means the above specified game.  
  
NOTES 2: o.k, umm I just wanted to say, some comments in this story with regards to Americans, could be found offensive, and I just want to take this moment to say I IN NO WAY INTEND TO OFFEND ANYONE, THEY'RE NOT MY OPINIONS, AND ARE MERELY JUST USED AS AN OFHAND REMARK IN THE STORY.  
  
I am so very sorry if it offends anyone. It is not meant in that way at all.  
  
***** Please remember when reading this story, that I started it in Season One of Angel, before Cordelia had her "personality adjustment" and became... nicer. So thats why she's still kind of "nasty" in this story.  
  
****** I just want to say that I'm very sorry it's taken me soooo long to update. The fact is, I've kind of lost interst in btvs and ats. And with it being on a 10.30 pm on a wednesday night, it's not really convenient to watch... also, I can't help but feel the story lines have become kind of strained... Anyway, the reason I'm updating is because of a few select people who have kept reviewing and begging me to write more, who could resist such encouragement? so there is a new part. Also, I have HOPEFULLY fixed the layout and spacing problem...  
  
England 1802, Williamshire  
  
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Angelus mocked the girl who cowered before him.  
  
"Please sir," she pleaded, her high class English accent was no more than a whisper and a sob, for that, at the present moment, was all she could muster. "Please gentle sir, I beg of you, and appeal to your mercy.....my father," she whimpered, referring to the elderly man that Angelus now held by the heel of his foot over the edge of the sea vessel that was now quite far out, yet still within the bay for which Williamshire was famous.  
  
She stared at the handsome man, searching his eyes for some show of mercy, despairingly she saw none. "My father," she began "will surely drown if you continue that for he cannot swim!!" She cried in absolute terror as the handsome man that had proclaimed himself to all as Angelus lowered her father once more into the churning sea almost up to the poor gentry's mid-chest. "Please," the pathetic creature in front of him whimpered again Angelus decided to finish it, the game was growing dull. "My dear," he said with a chuckle and a merry ol' tone, "you quite mistake the matter..... for I am neither gentle, nor could I care less about your fathers well being!" With that he dropped the old man into the stormy sea, reached over and snapped the girls neck in two. "Ahh....well would you look at that!" he chuckled, "I was right, the human bone structure is fascinating!" With that he let her lifeless body fall to the floor. He turned to the other unfortunate passengers who had, like the father and daughter he had just killed, made the tragic mistake of boarding the vessel, "Well then," he began as he took a step forward, "who'll be next?!"  
  
He gazed around the other shaking, pathetic passengers, there was nothing really special about them, they were about as amusing as a chipmunk........he knew he would bore of this game, like all others. Angelus knew he had potential, he knew that somewhere out there, was his greatest challenge.......he knew. He just couldn't prove it.  
United States of America, Los Angeles ~2000  
  
"Wait a minute, wait a minute!!" began Cordelia Chase incrediously as she stared at Wesley, the ex-watcher now assistant detective. "Angel actually told you!!!" she paused, mouth hanging open, "I can't believe it!.....It's not fair, how come he told you where he hides the Christmas presents and not me!!!!" she fumed. "It's desiptivation!!!!" "I believe," began Wesley as he adjusted his glasses to a more comfortable position on his nose, "the word you were aiming for is discrimination and I mus-...." He was about to finish when Cordelia promptly cut him off. "Whatever!" she said in an exasperated tone as she admired her flawless nails. "Wesley, I just ate lunch for crying out loud, I don't wanna spew all over you." She paused as she thought about the simply horrifyingly "declass'ee" statement. "EEEWWW!!!" she screeched, "anyway where was I??....honestly trying to get people to ACTUALLY listen to you is impossi- oh yeah spewing that's right, anyway as I was saying I WILL END UP SPEWING IF YOU GIVE ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR POINTLESS ENGLISH LECTURES!!" she cried. "You don't want that do you??" she battered her eye lashes. "No" began Wesley "but my lectures are not bo-" "Yes they are" Cordelia cut in once more as she grabbed his arm and proceeded to pull him out the door. "Come on!" she cried!! "Wait one moment I simply must grab a jacket, according to the news it's quite chilly out" "Whatever," Cordelia stated once again. She had stopped listening after the word "jacket" as she carefully applied her lipstick. When she finished she turned around to find Wesley standing behind her. "You look lovely" he offered. "I know" she said off handedly. Wesley sighed, "Where exactly are we going?" he asked as he opened the door for Cordelia, she started to exit. Her eyes sparkled with excitement at these words, "Millers, they're having this huge sal-" As she placed her foot outside the door a great burst of light proceeded, Cordeilia screamed as she felt herself begin to fall........  
  
England  
  
Williamshire 1802  
  
"What.....no takers?" Angelus feigned disappointment.  
  
"Well then I guess I'll just have to...." his voice trailed off as a bright burst of light flashed across the sky, more powerful than any lightning he had seen. Suddenly Angelus heard the nearing scream of a female. "What on Ear-" he was about to finish when suddenly a young lady fell from the sky and crashed on the deck with a loud thud. He watched as the lady quickly recovered herself, stood up and brushed herself down. Who was this girl???  
  
Cordelia looked around, suddenly two men grabbed her and dragged her across what appeared to be the deck of a ship. "What the hell...who do you think you are buddy!! Get your hands off of m- " Just as she was about to finish the men threw her to the ground. She stood up and whipped around to face them. "You!" she declared. "You will SO be hearing from my lawyers!!" 'If I live...' she thought to herself, gulping. "Who are you?" shouted a familiar voice from behind her, she whirled around and, recognizing the face of her friend, ran over and hugged him. "Oh Angel, boy am I glad to see you, you have no idea what just happ-" she stopped suddenly and looked at him,  
  
"Whoa! Angel okay you may be from the 17 hundreds or whatever but PULEEASE that look does SOOO not work for your complexion!!" She placed her hands on her hips, "I thought you of all people-I mean GRR's," she placed her hands in the appropriate places on her face to emphasize fangs and horns, "You would have...." Cordelia trailed off, at a loss for words. "I mean honestly Angel what is wrong with you?? even you know that look is soooo 200 years ago!!" "You speak" began Angel as he sauntered towards her cockily, "as if you know me...that however, I know is not possible, as I no longer socialize with pathetic little humans like you." Awestruck, gobsmacked, and yet tactfully as ever, Cordelia gave Angel a hard poke in the ribs.  
  
"Hey, just who do you think you're talking to!! I may be your employee, but so!, I'm also a person, Angel what the hell is wrong with you??" She looked into his eyes and it hit her, "Oh man!, I can't even turn my back on you for one minute!! You did it with Buffy again didn't you!! I'm telling you, where she leads, dark forces follow and now I'm going to die... great I didn't even get to dry clean my dress. I wonder if they'll choose the right dress......" she grabbed Angelus by the collar, "Oh God, what if they choose the wrong dress!" she paused in absolute horror. "What if when they put my picture in the paper they choose a bad one!" she looked away, "okay so I've never taken a bad picture but some are better than others! What will my parents say? Oh God!!" with that Cordelia Chase did the most pathetic thing she'd done in years, she burst into tears. Angelus watched in amusement as the young woman mumbled to herself. She then suddenly burst into tears, "Well" she cried between sobs, "at least I have one comfort...when you kill me I can come back and haunt Buffy to death!!" She started to cry again. He stared at her, his eyes boring into her like knives, "You," he said in confusion, "you speak to me like you know me! I told you I do not know you and still you persist! Tell me child," he sneered, "where do you know me from? How do you know my name?" Cordelia composed herself, at once her tear filled eyes immediately darkened, "How do I know you?? How do I know you!?" she cried in disbelief.  
  
"How do I know you?" she stated again. "How?...I'll tell you how! You-me slayerettes REMEMBER! You losing your soul REMEMBER? Buffy and you sleeping together REMEMBER??? All of us restoring your soul REMEMBER? And oh, not to mention the fact that you've tried to kill us thousands of times," she began to advance on him. "I've fed you blood, I've done an exorcism with you, I've worked for you, I've made you cups of coffee," as she moved toward Angelus she counted the things of on her fingers "I've been donut girl, I have MIND NUMBING VISIONS FOR YOU FOR A WHOLE YEAR GODDAMIT AND WHAT DO I GET?? I get HOW DO I KNOW YOU!!!" By now she had reached Angelus, she leaned in close "Well, and let me tell you, BUDDY, I predict a horrible and painful staking from the slayer for Y. O. U.!!" She spelled out the last three letters and emphasized the threat by pushing him. Hard. Angelus' mouth hung open, not only was this young woman a beauty, but she also stood up to him, and refused to be cowered by authority....perhaps this was the challenge he had been waiting for, he would have to test her a little further.... "Well, well, well little girl it seems you've proved the impossible, your words are actually as big as your mouth!" Angelus threw his head back as he burst out laughing, 'the look of indignation that crossed the girl's face was hilarious!' he thought. Suddenly he felt a stinging blow to his face, he stumbled back in shock, 'the young lady actually punched me!' his mind screamed in amazement, 'and it wasn't too bad a punch either, had I been human that probably would have knocked me unconscious!' he thought. To her, however, he said, "Can you do no better than that!" The young lady glared at him, seething, when suddenly a strange look passed across her face........ Cordelia leaned in really close, Angelus was about to get a taste of his own medicine, Cordelia hadn't been the "slayer" of boys for most of her life to have learnt nothing. She was about to hit Angelus where it hurt. "Actually I probably can," she replied. "Tell me Angel, have you stalked enough girls already to know what they talk about?" she asked him. A look of confusion crossed Angelus' face, it was, she noticed, quickly hidden, but it had been there none the less. 'Bingo!' she thought. She looked around and noticed that she had almost everyone on the ships undivided attention. 'Oh yeah,' she thought to herself, 'revenge is sweet.'  
  
"Well," she asked again, "have you?" She began again before Angelus even had a chance to answer, "Well I'm guessing not by the cocky grin on your face," she whispered knowing the others couldn't hear. "Just yesterday," she began again, her voice regaining it's usual level of projection, "I had the most detailed chat with Buffy," she trailed off letting the suspense of the others build, "and let me tell you," she said to Angelus, "she didn't have a good word to say about," Cordelia raised her fingers to form quotation marks she used them as she said the last part of her sentence "THE NIGHT." Cordelia noticed that now, if she hadn't before, she had EVERYONE's undivided attention. 'Presto,' she thought. Although Angelus would never admit it, he had a bad feeling about the way in which this young lady was addressing everyone. He had never heard a lady speak of such things, but back when he was mortal "the night" had usually stood for sleeping with someone. 'Is that what this young girl is implying?' he wondered. 'If so,' he thought, 'she had better cut to the chase, I'm growing bored.' He promptly passed a look to his minions who, equally as promptly, daring not upset their master, stalked towards her carrying wepons of all sorts and sizes. Cordelia had seen the look Angelus had directed undoubtedly to one of his "goons." She didn't know exactly what the look had meant, but she did know that it undoubtedly had something to do with her well being. 'All right,' she said to herself, 'you wanna play hard ball..ha!' She spurred herself on, 'I didn't lose my social status thanks to Buffy, to go and learn nothing from it.' Silently she ran through all her limited, (but still, enough to do impending damage) knowledge of the martial arts. 'Ohh ohh,' she silently thanked God as she discovered the ever so essential stakes, holy water and crosses that had, over the past 3 or so years, earned a permanent position in her handbag. There as always. 'Time to kick some bad guy butt,' she thought. 'Ok, so the tough guy thing doesn't work for me- mental note-never become a bikie.' The goon vampires started to circle and close in on Cordelia. One of the vampires who wore a red tie, black jacket and blue...'well,' thought Cordelia, 'they vaguely resemble pants......UGHHH!' Cordelia almost shrieked, 'This dude, vampire or no, has totally lost it.' She looked around her, 'Ok, so has everyone here,' the vampire grabbed a handful of Cordelia's hair and proceeded to attempt to throw her.  
  
"YOOWW!" she shrieked, "this isn't a hammerthrow competition you know!" With that a sudden adrenalin rushed through her, with all her might she managed to kick him straight between the legs. He howled in pain, hands rested on his knees, Cordelia reached into her bag, pulled out a stake....what was left of the vampire settled on her clothes and hair, or drifted out to sea to meet the dawn that would come in less than a few hours. Angelus stared on in momentary awe, he knew he should be angry, the vampire Keaune that she had just 'dusted' had indeed been new and stupid, but had shown early signs of potential, 'as a minion of course' he reminded himself, he refused to share his title as master with anyone, he even resented the fact that Darla was as equally ranked as he, 'never mind that,' he chided himself as he brought his mind back to more immediate matters, this woman was slaying his minions one by one, as if swatting flies. He had run into many a slayer, killed some, injured all..he knew what they tasted like, smelt like and this woman neither smelt, nor acted like one. 'And yet she knows what we are,' he concluded to himself, trying to put the remaining pieces of the puzzle into place, but, to no avail. Cordelia was determined not to show it but she was tiring- and quickly, 'I don't know how much longer I can keep this up,' Cordelia muttered between gritted teeth. A vampire charged at her, she stepped aside and he landed on the railing of the side of the vessel. Cordelia charged over to the vampire, not giving him time to recover, grabbed his legs and tipped him over the edge into the wild sea which was churning dangerously. She turned around, preparing for the next attack, to her surprise it never came. The only vampire still within current fighting length was the fiend of the fair himself, Angelus.  
  
Cordelia took a few steps forward predicting his attack. His face usually God-like was now horrifying, distorted with uncontrollable rage.  
  
Cordelia was frozen with fear, 'Ok- mood equals heavy, say a witty remark- ....like what- good one Cordelia your mouth which has never failed you before is going to let you down right when you need it the most,' she realized. 'Oh whoopie bang doo I might as well leap into the arms of de-' She was almost finished concluding her will when Angelus' anger seemed to melt and he burst out laughing. To Cordelia's further shock, Angelus' display of good humor was then followed with clapping. She knew he wasn't humored and that this was one of his sick twisted games, she just couldn't figure out which way the dice were rolling- in his favour or hers? Angelus couldn't stop laughing, this mortal had dispatched all of his most powerful minions, and also to add to his humiliation it was a MORTAL WOMAN.  
  
Perhaps if she was a great slayer the humiliation could have been lessened.....'but she is A WOMAN! A mortal woman no less.' He couldn't stop laughing, if he did the others would know something was wrong, he had to admit he was quite impressed. He was now, if he hadn't been before, convinced that she was the challenge he had been waiting for. Cordelia couldn't figure out why Angelus, who should have steam practically pouring out of his ears, was suddenly full of humor. 'Well maybe a couple of years in hell can do that to a guy,' she reasoned, 'nah who am I kidding, something is majorly up.' Angelus decided to test the young woman, he moved forward to prepare to attack. He noticed her reaching into what appeared to be some sort of bag designed to go on one's shoulders. She suddenly whipped out a black object, pushed a button, and with one click he was in a beam of light, brighter than he remembered even the sun having been. There was an object painted on where the light was coming from. 'A cross,' he realized, 'clever girl.' "What sort of witch have we here?" he whispered to himself.  
  
He knew now that he would have to make her one of his minions, this one was too pretty, and too full of such spirit to let die.  
  
Cordelia didn't like the look Angelus was giving her, it was as if he were evaluating a possession, it's worth and such; and Cordy was no-one's possession, especially a blood sucking bad guy. Cordelia had a bad feeling about this. A very bad feeling. 


	2. Part 2

Part 2 Silken sheets. Cordelia groaned. "Argggh, mmmmm," she attempted to sit up, only to be met with a sharp pain in her head. "Ohh, what did I get up to last night, I curse whoever invented alcohol!" "Well, well, well," came a voice, "lookie here who's up!"  
  
Cordelia looked to where the voice was coming from, to see an elderly lady wearing one of those black and white maids outfits that you see in movies set in the olden days.  
  
"It's a wonder you're alive, from what I heard about your rendevous upstairs I'm surprised Angelus didn't have a human barbeque party with you as the main course!" The woman chuckled at her own joke.  
  
"Yeah right, whatever" began Cordelia, "where am I anyway?" "Oh you're in the masters cabin, he was up with all the other males on deck all night" "You do realize you work for a vampire don't you?"  
  
"Well yes I do, but as my father always said, it is better to be the right hand of the devil than to be in his path...my father was a very smart man."  
  
"Um yeah, sure, listen am I like a prisoner or can I go already?" "Well certainly, although there's not very many places you can go from here, unless your dream is spending the rest of your life in the belly of a shark!" "Ummm yeah, see you!" Cordelia was out the door and was immediately greeted with a salty spray. She yawned, 'Well good morning to you too,' she thought. Now that it was daytime the ship and surrounding areas didn't look as dank as they did before, they looked like something out of Loch Ness, the movie. Beautiful green cliffs met her as she stared over the ships railing. "So where am I anyway?" she said to herself. She continued her walk along the deck until she came to a door. She had an overwhelming urge to open it. When she did she was immediately met will a strange feeling, an air of power and evil, she realized with a start. She whirled around preparing to leave, when a voice stopped her.  
  
"Ahh I see you're awake, good." She turned back to face him, "My we are daring aren't we, exploring. Most girls would sit around whimpering or praying. But you.....you are much different, from California, in America. I had heard the girls over there were a lot more bold, but really I had no idea.......there was another thing that bothered me," he took something out of his pocket. 'My wallet' she realized. "This....drivers license?" It was a question, she realized. "Forgive me," he began again, "but would you care to explain what exactly a drivers license is? And,.... what would a such a pretty young lady such as yourself be doing with one?"  
  
Cordelia leaned forward and promptly snatched the small card out of his large hands. "None of your bee's wax, and just what do you think you're doing going through my personal stuff, even James Bond wouldn't have done that. Sheesh, what is your childhood trauma!" Angelus looked at her, "And James Bond would be who exactly?" Cordelia stared at him in disbelief, "That is supposed to be funny how??" Cordelia sent him her best look of utter disdain. Angelus suddenly burst out laughing and smoothed a tendril of hair from her forehead, "We certainly are quite the character aren't we?" he drawled. Cordelia, who was by now very unimpressed, mimicked his giggle, and with the same tone that you would use on a child, that Angelus had had the audacity to use on her she responded, "We certainly have a thing for speaking in the third person, don't we?"  
  
" I suppose it is a habit. All my minions, only the ones I'm close with of course, have commented on it also." Cordelia looked at him, "Yeah, and strangely enough, even though I was around you most of the time, I never noticed." Cordelia pointed out to him.  
  
Angelus looked at her, she looked at him, an awkward silence filled the room. Angelus was the first to break it. " Mmmmm," he said, taking an un-needed breath as he began to circle her. She noticed now that he had another object in his hand, he began to tap each finger with it. 'Oh my God,' she realized with a start, 'It's a knife , he's going to gut me!!' "Yes," he began, pausing, "you were speaking last evening of such an absurd thing as I, myself knowing you, but I really do think you are mistaken, for I am certain I would remember such lovely young lady with hair like that of a raven." Cordelia stood there, caught between the urge to run, and the urge to finish calculating what he had just said. Cordelia, for all her come backs, was at a loss for words. Had Angel just given her a compliment? ' Scratch that girlfriend, he's no Angel - move your butt now or he's going to kill you.' "Yeah," she said with a nervous laugh as she backed towards the door, "raven hair, now there's a good name for Revlon to use on their next color. I can just see the billboard in Times Square - raven hair, the new generation of hair color"  
  
By now Cordelia was in striking distance, her hand reached out to the door knob. "Well thanks for the fabulous accommodation and all but hey, you know, there's no place like home-" She grabbed the door knob, turned it and pushed with all her might - only to find that luck and fate were against her.  
  
She whirled around, trying to break the lock or kick open the door, only to have a firm pair or arms, cool as ice, to lock around her waist and hurtle her onto the desk, which thankfully had nothing but her small purse on it. "Locked I'm afraid," he said giving her a cringe of sympathy. She got up off the desk, looked him straight in the eye and suddenly burst out laughing. "You...know what-" she said in between giggles as Angelus moved closer, "the funniest thing is.....that there is absolutely no humour in this and here I am, laughing- right before I die." Angelus by now had reached her, and was looking in her eyes almost tenderly. Cordelia stopped, and composed herself, automatically sliding into the persona of the airheaded cheerleader that she had perfected over 18 years. Angelus leaned in close, "Let me kiss you," he whispered. "What?" Cordelia cried, "here, now?" "Yes," he whispered. "If not here where, if not now when?" he continued. Cordelia frowned, "You're confusing me, where?" "Here," he answered quickly. "When?" she asked hesitantly. "NOW!" he barked, his impatience getting the better of him. "But......why?" Cordelia stuttered. A look of confusion crossed his features. "I honestly don't know." He looked at her, she was beautiful, undoubtably, but she would grow to be so much more glorious than the vision she was before him today. He had over the years of his life and unlife watched many a lady, he knew, and had seen the way women age. True she was a beauty, and to the untrained and unattuned mortal male, her current beauty would be all they saw. But Angelus saw, in his minds eye, the goddess, that in 5 or so years would stand before him and he would be damned if he would share either her current beauty or future goddess-like state with anyone, be they male or female, mortal or immortal, human or demon. 'I will make sure that she stays mine and only mine,' he thought savagely, before promptly flicking his hand out to her throat, and pushing at the pulse point. The movement, as he knew it would, immediately rendered her unconscious. "Wesley," she muttered before slipping into the arms of Angelus as darkness enveloped her. 


	3. Part 3

Part 3 'Where did that come from?' Angelus thought, one moment he had been primed to wheesle information from her, and the next minute all he wanted to to was lock her away from the world and it's prying eyes. "I've got to get out more," he muttered to himself. He turned around and moved towards the wall at the back of the room. He slid the framed painting of wild flowers that had been 'oh so conveniently' draped there, creating an elegant look to the room, and also concealing the button that would open the wall to reveal the secret passage down to his private quarters. Since it was day he could not go the "usual" way, unless he wanted to be burnt to smithereens. He took her down the long winding corridor and draped her across the bed. He admired her as her hair fanned out across the pillows. The constant flickering of the candles created rays of light that danced across her features in the darkness of the room. He smoothed a tendril of hair from her forehead, she whimpered. There was something strange about this girl, in her demeanor and in her eyes. Angelus had always thought himself to be quite the excellent judge of character, yet he couldn't place her. Sometimes he was certain he saw pain in her eyes- loneliness even, but it was quickly hidden. She was witty and played with words, she had a fire within her, hell, the girl was fire. He left the room in silence intending to return once he had finished some important business. He disappeared through the corridor, instantly blending into the darkness.  
  
She was floating in velvety darkness, remember, re-living. Her father and mother had come home from Venice, and were re-packing to go to the Bahamas for yet another business conference. "But you can't go," pleaded the young brunette girl, "we're doing a play tomorrow night with the big year seven class, you promised you'd come.....you promised," she whispered, but they didn't hear her, they never did, they never cared, never noticed.  
  
"That's nice sweetie," replied the tall dark haired man. "Here," he said as he handed her a square plastic object, "go buy your self something nice," he finished absently. "Dear, do you think I should wear the......" His voice faded as she ran from the room.  
  
Tossing the credit card at the wall, she leaned against the wall and let herself fall slowly to the ground. 'Why did they always leave?' she wondered. Was she not good enough, did she fail them in some way? Had she not been the kind of daughter they wanted - they always paid attention to the children of others, why not her, didn't they love her? She stayed in that position, just staring at the wall in front of her. She cried herself quietly to sleep. She had been out no longer than an hour when Cordelia's eyelids, began to quietly flutter, but not open. She groaned and stretched her legs. It had not been an enjoyable sleep, plagued by memories she thought she had long since managed to repress. Memories, she only wished she could forget, but never really could. She forced her throbbing head up and pried her eyelids open. It took a few minutes to calculate, but when it did a cold and gripping fear began to work its way through Cordelia's numb, sleep deprived body. "Okay," she whispered, "not my room." She felt as though someone was watching her. She looked down and sure enough there was Angelus, lying next to her, quite happy to simply sit there and observe. She tried to roll off the bed, even just get a little distance between them, but found herself being held in place by velvet bonds. "What do you want?" she whispered. Not wanting, and yet asking for the obvious answer. Truth be told Angelus frightened her, he had this utterly sadistic way of going about everything, and he was prone to changes of personality, plans and his ultimate goal. But most frightening of all was his method. Cordelia had never told anyone, much less Angel, but she had snuck glances of passages in the watchers diary about him when he first lost his soul. He didn't play by the rules, it was always his game, and he would change the objective and the rules, if he ever made them, at any sudden time, he would draw out a killing, make it almost like a game. She thought of poor Druscilla. Poor, poor stupid Druscilla- she had lost in more ways than one. "What do you want?" he heard her whisper. She was watching him in turn, evaluating him. He could see she knew the answer, and yet almost like a child, she wanted reassurance. "No," he whispered answering her question. "No," she mouthed shaking her head. It was a tense moment, he could see into her eyes, every flicker of emotion, she was frightened and confused. "I'm not going to hurt you," his voice seemed to snap her out of her reverie. He watched as her eyes clouded over. She straightened her shoulders, her expression lost all confusion and fright and became that of boredom and resentment. What had been a frightened young girl before him, now lay an inconsiderate, uncaring, self absorbed cheerleader. To anyone who looked, that was what they would see. He however, had seen who she was moments before and was not fooled as easily as others. "Well," he said beginning to get up, "I'm glad you woke up, The tailors were quite reluctant to dress you while you were unconscious. Granted I could have made them change my mind.......but one would presume tailoring to be very hard missing certain body parts." With that he walked out the door. 'What the hell is going on around here?' she wondered fiercely to herself. 'I think I'm safe in presuming that everyone has gone gaga.......so that would equal getting out of here.' Cordelia began to struggle futilely at the bonds. She had begun to suspect she would die in this room, and was in the process of mentally making out her will, when several immaculately attired men walked in the room. "This the girl?" one man muttered to the other. "Yes," another one replied. They began to mutter amongst themselves, all seven of them. She could hear little snippets of their conversation, "..so this is the new one...,"  
  
" there's a new one every day...,"  
  
"she is a beauty,"  
  
".....I'd say red and Purple would be very complimenting to her...,"  
  
"...yes it would suit her, the hair, it would go with the hair....so healthy and well kept, even from over here you can see how spectacular it is...." The grand clock, which stood in the foyer, often referred to as the "Grandfather" clock's loud and prominent chime echoed through the ship. The tailors immediately stopped their little chit-chat and turned to her, their pearly whites gleaming, or at least they resembled pearly's, but even the most charitable and kind of person couldn't go as far as to call them "white". 'Alrighty then,' Cordelia thought. They just stood there looking at her. She laid tied there gazing at them. The group of tailors, and Queen C engaged in a game of Jinx. Naturally the tailors didn't stand a chance, they were the first to back down. "So...Miss....?' one of the gentlemen trailed off. "Miss none of your damned business, I hope you know that what you're doing is AGAINST THE LAW. You're all gonna go straight to hell!" she yelled venting some of her anger--some. Now it was time to vent some more, "And you," she continued, turning her wrath to another man holding a pin cushion "could you HAVE a tackier outfit?" The men all looked at her aghast. It was at this moment that Angelus chose to waltz back in to the room, cigar carelessly held in his elegant fingers. "Don't mind her," he said, tapping the ash into a silver tray, then turning to face Cordelia, "she's not half as nasty as she makes out to be." Then he turned to the men, "Be patient with her, after all she is American," he whispered. The tailors all gave nods and sighs of understanding. "Hey," she yelled, "just what is that supposed to mean?" Angelus who had begun exiting the room turned to her, "calm down my dear," he said in a soothing and reasonable tone, speaking to her again as if she were a child,  
  
"Everyone knows that the Americans have no taste and etiquette whatsoever, now do excuse me I have some rather important .......business to take of." He begun to exit. "Yeah," said Cordelia, "well in the hundred or so years you've lived there you haven't really seemed to mind, and what is the deal with putting on the Irish accent? Are you having a mid-tricentennial crisis or something?" He looked at her, shook his head and continued on his way. Cordelia was left alone at the mercy of the tailors.... 


	4. Part 4

Part 4  
  
Cordelia stared at the mirror one of the tailors held with a mixture of shock and revulsion. Shocked that someone could create something so old fashioned, and revulsion at the fact that she, Queen C, was wearing it.  
  
The top of the dress now firmly affixed to her body, clung like a second skin. Even if the tailor had held no mirror for her to see, she would have been able to tell as it was so tight she felt as if she were being stranggled. The bottom of the dress flowed into a long skirt, so long in fact it went to below her ankle. The back, which was slightly longer than the front, flowed down in little rivits to the floor and swept along as she walked. It was a deep satiny red, cut into two sections. The first was what appeared to be the beginning of a corset. Held together by firm pieces of bone, it was extremely tight at the waist, but widened out at the top and the front of the bosom by helping of the bone to form an old fashioned, and midriff covering boob-tube. The second section was a long, flowing skirt, with layers and layers of what the tailors had called petticoats underneath. The back was slightly longer than the front, made of the same material, but every ten centimeters or so it was hoisted up to form rivits. These rivets were held in place by stitches, the maids had seen to that bit, as Cordelia had suspected for she had, in her life yet to see a man sew. These stitches had been sewn over and over again, with a cotton thread the same color of the dress to form flowers. There were three on each rivet- one near the right side of her hip, one on the left side of her hip, and one in the middle on the small of her back. In total there were at least, fifteen of these little riverts with flowers stitched on.  
  
The dress was beautiful in an old fashioned, stuffy sort of way. Anyone who saw it could tell it was unquestionably expensive, not just because of the exquisite material, but by way of the effort that had been entailed to create it. It was beautiful, she had to admit at least that much to herself, though she would never willingly wear it.  
  
Unfortunately for her she currently was not presented with the right to choose. As soon as the dress had been completed they had destroyed her own clothes, by means of fire. Much to Cordelia's dismay, these clothes had contained her favorite pair of shoes, and the tailors had shown no mercy in "disposing" of those in the same manner.  
  
Cordelia had watched with heartfelt guilt as one of the most beautiful and detailed, not to mention expensive, pair of shoes Cordelia had owned was quickly destroyed.  
  
That guilt had now turned to gut wrenching anger. Oh yes, Angelus was going to get what was coming to him, Cordelia would PERSONALLY see to that.  
  
Angelus had left the ship briefly to get the many essentials that his new....guest would be needing. He had boarded the lifeboat that had gone unnoticed to the few who still survived aboard the ship.  
  
He would do away with them soon enough, they were of no interest to him. Unlike a certain American.  
  
His lips curled into a slight smile, she was a fascinating creature, perhaps not the most intelligent, nor the most beautiful he had met, being it that he was more prone to blondes himself. But what she lacked in other areas, she certainly made up for in spirit.  
  
And, what was more while watching her sleep, he had noticed the way she twisted and turned, as much as the bonds had allowed, the expression of pain and embarrassment that had crossed her features. The small noises she made. It had been obvious that she had been in the throes of a nightmare.  
  
And yet, unlike most who experienced nightmares of terror, it was as if she were fighting her emotions, remembering a painful time.......  
  
Yes, he decided that was it. She covered her emotions, he had realized that from their first meeting, many people he knew did that.  
  
Granted, perhaps not as well as she, but it was a common thing, not at all a thing that would captivate him.  
  
No, what fascinated him was the mystery of why. And perhaps even how. Why she had learned to do that. How she had learned to do that. It was not shameful for women to show what they feel as it was for men, so that could not be it.  
  
Perhaps shame was somehow factored in.....yes, he was positive that shame was an issue. Not in the same sense, or reason that men conceal there emotions, but there were some similarities. Either way he was determined to crack her. Break her shell. She would reveal all to him in time. Confide in him, trust him, love him...........  
  
Angelus growled, the girl was having such an effect on him, in a way that his previous obsessions never did. Was it possible he had found his companion for all eternity?  
  
With that pleasant thought, Angelus decided to stop by the Jeweler, and pick up a few exceedingly expensive and glamorous items for his latest crusade.  
  
Cordelia............. 


	5. Part 5

Part 5  
  
Cordelia watched silently as the tailors preoccupied themselves at the other side of the room. They had forgotten to re-tie her, and her chance of escape was now or nev-...'I mean sometime later'. Even if she failed the first time, she WOULD escape. Slowly, foot by foot, she edged her way toward the door, subtly, she glanced back. The tailors hadn't noticed. She inched further, now preferring to walk backward, keeping her eyes locked on the group of men huddled tightly together, engrossed in their discussion. Her hand was suddenly met with something cold and metal. 'The doorknob!!' her mind shrieked with glee. Quietly and slowly as she possibly could, she began to turn the doorknob. She had turned to a point of 90 degrees, when it let out a large squeak. Cordelia froze in terror. The tailors stopped. Cordelia's breath caught in her throat, she stood perfectly still, her body frozen in stiff attention, then, as abruptly as they had stopped, their discussion picked up again.  
  
Cordelia exhaled in utter relief. She quickly turned the door the rest of the way, and, still keeping a firm grasp on the doorknob, she edged toward the edge of the wall to her left, where, behind her an opening was appearing. Then, silently as a mouse she slipped out, closing the door behind her. She was once again greeted with the pungent smell of salt. She had exited into a long corridor, the walls and floors made of jarrah, lined with deep red velvet trimmings. Portraits and pictures of all sorts lined the walls, each encased in a gold bordered frame, with glass over the top. J ust at the end of the corridor, she could see light forming around the edges of a door that was closed over. "The exit," she whispered silently to herself. She began to edge closer, the smell of salt becoming more apparent with every step. Along the corridor, on the sides were other doors, although Cordelia had no feeling of curiosity as to what lay behind them, the sounds of pleasure, some of erotic pain, gave her a fairly big hunch that it would do nothing more that assist in the deflowering and rotting of her already overly exposed mind. Over the past few years practically everything she had ever known had been shattered, her Fathers money, her promise of collage, her home, her dreams, her friends, and strangely, even though she would never admit it, her beliefs were changing too. Finally after what seemed to Cordelia like months of trepidation, she reached the door. She was about to open it when the sound of muffled hysterical voices caught her ear,  
  
"she is not...."  
  
"the master will kill us all"  
  
"what do you mean she's not here?" "Okey-dokey," Cordelia began, "that would be my que to leave." With that she flung open the door and threw herself out into the night, behind her a door banged open, and five very ticked tailors marched out. All this was lost on Cordelia, as she had already flung herself overboard, into the waves, and was swimming as quickly as she could toward shore 


	6. Part 6

Part 6 He didn't know what had caused him to look, the water here threatened to make him ill at just a glance, so what had possessed his eyes to wander, over the side of the boat, which was now being rowed back to the sea vessel by his minions, beyond the small fishing boat to gaze at the waves, he would never know, but whatever it was, he was indebted to it; for, had he not looked at that very moment, he never would have saw his devine captive, gliding under the water, then briefly coming to the surface, exhaling, promptly inhaling, and then once again submerging.  
  
'So,' he thought to himself, 'she swims as well, curiouser and curiouser.' He gave a silent nod to the minion at his side, who raised an eyebrow in curious question but did nothing more, and then promptly jumped over board.  
  
'Ahhh my love,' he thought wickedly to himself, a sadistic smile forming at the corner of his lips 'you will never escape me..........' Cordelia was running out of breath. Rapidly. But she dare not surface unless it were strictly necessary, she had come too far to lose. 'A bit like fainting in a marathon, just before you cross the finish line....' Cordelia briefly recognized the thought as pure gibberish, but put it down to lack of air. The water around her was pitch black, she couldn't see her hands in front of her, but still felt it necessary to keep her eyes open. The salt water was stinging like mad. 'Buffy's enhanced slayer powers would be really great right about now,' she muttered mentally to herself. It was too much, air running out, and physical endurance pushed to the limit, Cordelia began to climb to the surface, only to find that the surface wasn't there......it was somewhere.....up, down.....where was it? What was she looking for again.........where was she?.  
  
'What the hell is she doing?' Had she seen him?, heard him?. She must have. She was swimming away. He could dimly make out her form ahead of him in the water. 'No' he suddenly realized with a jolt, she hadn't noticed his presence, nor was she swimming away; she was surfacing, or at least trying to. He had heard about this. Drowning. Humans became disoriented, desperately in need of air, scared, and going into shock, they lost their bearings completely.  
  
Maybe that explained why she was swimming downwards. Panic settled over him like a blanket, she would die soon. He watched as her body began to show the telltale signs of a person about to pass out. With every ounce of his strength he propelled himself forward.  
  
She was exhausted. Delirious, pain had long since vanished, and now there was calm, but there was something.....something hurt, somewhere..... Everything around Cordelia began to spin, black molding into white, white into black, night into day. How peaceful it was...... Then something shattered, noises, so many noises, colours....... She dimly recognized a pair of familiar arms encircling her waist. "Angel" she whispered, the water rushed in. Blackness descended 


	7. Part 7

Part 7 Angelus, jerked awake, sharply drawing in unneeded air. It had been an unpleasant sleep, plagued by memories of his human life. He quickly arose from his bed, grabing a jacket that had lay disgarded across a near by chair, and hurried out of his room.  
  
Cordelia. She would distract him. He made his way along the deck, to the room which held his captive, all the while trying to ignore the annoying voice which kept knawing at him. He had dreamt of his father again, he hated thinking of him, it brought wave of pain. Pain that was supposed to be removed from vampires in their turning. He walked quickly, his footsteps the only sound, aside from the rythmic hiss of the sea. Cordelia was fast asleep when he entered the room, but upon the soft click of the door shutting, her eyes flew open, and she bolted upright. "I'm awake- I'm up" she muttered "Oh, its you, oh whoopie-bang-doo" Angelus stood there, silhouetted by moonlight 'what is he doing?' she silently wondered, he took a breath, came to the edge of her bed and lowered himself down to sit next to her. "What is it like where you come from?" he whispered, Cordelia just looked at him. "What do you mean?" she responded softly, recognising the honesty of his mood  
  
"tell me about your life, California, your family, your friends..." he trailed off, "Angel, I don't understand... I don't get what game you're playing... you know my friends, my family, you know California..." she looked at him intently, he looked back  
  
"You really do believe you know me, don't you" he said after a time. He said it with such earnesty, that something in Cordelia clicked. 'The clothes, the hair, the accent... oh my god, no way' she shot bolt upright in the bed  
  
"Angel, what is the date... tell me. The exact date" "Febuary 6th eighteen hundred and two, why?"  
  
Cordelia didn't repond, her mouth wouldn't work. For the first time in her life she found herself utterly speechless. '1802... that means I've gone back in time 199 years' her mind shrieked in awe 'Before Angelus got his soul... oh. my. god. this is too wierd'.  
  
'Slow down girl, think clearly, panic will get you no where,breathe' "Cordelia" Angelus' voice broke through her reverie "did you hear me?" he asked again. She drew in a silent breath "Yeah, sorry, I thought it was still January, ha, stupid me" she waffled 'great, my brain has decided to go on vacation, I better get a grip or Angelus might realise somethings up'  
  
"So, umm you wanna know about California... umm, well it has the sun, the beach... there are lots of people and umm, yeah, thats about it" "Thats it?" Angelus asked incrediously, then, narrowing his eyes, he accused softly "I don't believe that" "Well, there is more" Cordy conceeded, "but I'm real tired... could I maybe sleep some more?" She mentally crossed her fingers, praying Angel would by it. "Of course... you've had a hard few days" she could hear the question in his voice, but he was going to leave, that was all that mattered "I'll check back later" he stood up, and walked to the door, looking back at her, she faked a yawn, and lay down, shutting her eyes, only when she heard the door click shut did she allow herself to breathe. Angelus paused outside the door, he had felt as though he were really connecting with her, until he had asked her about where she was from, she had reacted so strangely...  
  
He heard her sigh through the door. Never mind, he would find out later. He would not stop until she told him. 


End file.
